Girl, 12, fighting swine flu in PMH

The child is one of 742 West Australians to test positive for the AH1N1 strain. A 33-year-old man is still critically ill with swine flu in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

Professor Phil Thompson, from the Lung Institute of WA, said about 10 per cent of the world's known swine flu cases were in Australia and he urged the public to be vigilant in stopping the spread of the virus, especially because it was now hitting young, healthy people.

"Swine flu appears to attack the respiratory system in a more sustained way than the seasonal flu, causing far more damage," he said.

"This is of real concern to not only those with pre-existing lung conditions, but it also highlights the damage that can be caused to otherwise healthy people contracting the virus."

The 12-year-old girl was in a stable condition in PMH after being taken into intensive care yesterday. The 33-year-old man has an underlying medical condition.

A 31-year-old man, who had been critically ill with swine flu in Royal Perth Hospital since Tuesday, was moved out of intensive care yesterday.

A hospital spokeswoman said the patient, who did not have any underlying health problems, was no longer showing symptoms and had been moved to a ward.

Around Australia, the number of confirmed cases has increased by 805 to 11,194.

A nine-year-old boy and a 78-year-old man were among five people with swine flu to die in Sydney over the past three days, bringing the national death toll to 29.

The other three were women aged 55 and 71, and a 29-year-old man.

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said that four of the five victims had pre-existing medical conditions.

"The (nine-year-old) child had a number of very significant underlying medical conditions," Dr Chant said.

"The child presented to the hospital with influenza, the child was not (previously) hospitalised. But the child had a number of very significant pre-existing conditions."

Pregnant women in Sydney have been urged to contact their doctor if they develop flu-like symptoms after it was revealed that six pregnant women, in their second and third trimesters, are fighting for their lives in intensive care units across western Sydney.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists urged pregnant women to wear masks in public and "wash themselves scrupulously" after coming into contact with others.

The college's president, Ted Weaver, said pregnant women did not have "go into lockdown" but should be very careful and work from home if possible.